


Only human

by Spectascopes



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Frisk cannot reset or save, Other, Pacifist Route, People kill them, post-death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 08:05:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5367731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectascopes/pseuds/Spectascopes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The seventh human soul descends. They are weak. Who would pass up an opportunity like this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Toriel

Toriel stood before the exit of the Ruins and watched the little human as they puffed their chest and tried to make themselves look bigger. This was the third time they had came down to the basement- a few days had gone by since their arrival, and Toriel had made more than a handful of butterscotch-cinnamon pies. They really enjoyed them.

“Do you really wish to leave?” the boss monster asked quietly. The human's face was twisted with guilt, but they stood their ground and nodded. “They will take your soul, human. If you cannot prove to me that you are strong, you will not survive.”

They stood, shaking, but unmoving.

The first attack was slow and soft, but the human was hit by the magic fireball square in their small chest. They fell backwards with a grunt, but got back to their feet in a matter of seconds. Toriel waited for them to attack, but they didn't move. They stood their ground with a now-singed sweater.

Toriel's attacks only became more intense as the feelings of shame grew inside of her. She was hurting a child- but it was for their own good, she told herself. If she did not show them what it would be like outside of the Ruins, they would leave, and they would die. She could not watch another go and be killed.

The human refused. They did not attack, they would fall and get back up with shaking limbs and stare at the monster with pinpricks of tears in their eyes. Toriel's heart ached to watch them, and know that she was causing this pain, but she could not stop.

“Enough, child! Why won't you stop this?” Toriel pleaded. They were bleeding from a scraped knee, and their right hand was burned, but they continued to rise and stand and look at her with tears in their sad eyes.

“Why won't you let me help you?” Toriel shouted. One final attack- that was all she would do. They were not looking well, so one final attack would be all she unleashed. And so her hands glowed with fire-magic and she let out a burst of attacks. She could not let the human go- she would not accept another failure and have the blood of a seventh child on her hands.

They were hit by one of the attacks and stumbled to the side. Toriel's body froze as they coughed and blood splattered on the floor. They looked up just in time to see the next attack coming towards them, already sent from her trembling hands.

There was only a second for Toriel to cry out- move, child!- but it was too late. The attack hit its mark, just as the first, right on their heart. The room grew suddenly cold. A precious, fragile little soul shook for a moment before it shattered. Frisk's body hit the floor with a dead thud.

Toriel stood, frozen in horror. The soul was still there, broken and... dead. The human was dead. The human laid on the floor without moving. Their little chest no longer rose and fell with quiet breaths.

She stumbled forward but collapsed on her knees as she reached the small human. A line of blood was already drying on their mouth. Toriel's shaking hands reached out to heal them- because they could not be dead- but there was nothing to heal. The soul was gone. It was only a dead husk.

A wail echoed around the room as Toriel realized what she had done- what she had done to the poor, frightened human. She cradled their battered body to her chest as she cried. She held nothing back, because there was nobody to hear her. She had killed a child- murdered them, in cold blood. What was their crime? Wanting to go home?

She had failed. She had killed. Her LV increased as she rocked back and forth on the floor with the small body in her arms. They were so fragile- they were so weak, and so small, and so scared. Their cheeks were still wet with tears.

Toriel felt herself begin to go. What was there left for her, now? How could she live knowing that she'd taken this little life? She cried into Frisk's chest as she felt herself turn to dust. Her own soul was dying. She welcomed it- anything to make the unbearable pain in her body fade away. She could not protect anybody. She had murdered a child.

She faded away with Frisk's soul. Her sobs grew quieter as the dust began to settle.

Life went on without her. Only a skeleton knew that she was gone. He would knock on the door in the hopes that a familiar voice would joke with him.

But nobody came.

 


	2. Undyne

The little rat was staring at Undyne like _she_ was the bad guy. She gritted her teeth as she launched another spear at the human. Humans were the enemy and she wouldn't let this one stand in the way of every monsters freedom. She would take their dirty soul and deliver it to the king, and then all of monsterkind would be free. 

The kid faltered in their dodge and the spear struck them in the shoulder. It dissipated as soon as it hit, but they fell down with a cry as blood ran from the wound.

“Fight back, coward!” Undyne shouted, and the human shakily rose to its feet and grabbed at its wound. Their eyes were filled with horror, but you refused to allow the small pang of guilt that entered your conscience to slow your attacks. They dodged another spear by a hairs breadth, but the second one hit its mark and burst into a puff of magic against their chest. They stumbled and fell, and then they coughed into their hair only to look at it and cry when they saw the blood. 

“You're the only thing standing between us and freedom!” Undyne said. She focused on her adrenaline and the battle, ignoring the bad thoughts. “You are our enemy! Die!”

They barely ducked out of the way to avoid the next spear you threw. Tears were running down their face as they smashed it into the ground and laid before you as though in worship. You could hear their strangled sobs, but it only made you more angry.

“Stop it and DIE!” the monster cried. One final spear was sent, and as the human looked up it burst against their forehead. There wasn't a lot of blood, but their eyes went wide as their HP hit zero.

“Undyne, wait! Stop, the human is-” Papyrus's voice made Undyne freeze. She whirled to see the skeleton running up behind her, but as he saw the human's body crumple to the ground, he gasped something and ran to them.

He'd met the human? How did he know it? What was he doing, and why did he care if she killed it? 

Undyne's blood went cold as Papyrus flung himself to his knees and picked up the small body. They weren't quite dead yet- when Papyrus took one of their hands, they held it gently in their shaking palm. A line of blood came from their mouth. She could see the horror and fear in the human's eyes, but in only a moment more their soul shattered and they died.

“No, no, Frisk- human- wake up!” Papyrus said. Undyne took a step back while her brain went fuzzy. He knew them? He knew them by  _name?_

“What the hell is going on?” Undyne breathed, instincts telling her to form another spear. “Papyrus, what did you call that thing?”

But Papyrus wasn't listening. He was staring down at the human with a blank expression you'd never seen him wear. He put a hand to their cheek and whispered something you couldn't hear, but they were already dead. When he raised his eyes to look at his friend, there was only sorrow.

“Kid never hurt a fly.”

Undyne screamed something as she whirled around to see Sans standing behind her. Papyrus's brother had eyes black as pitch and his voice was low and dangerous. She snarled.

“It's us or them! This is the seventh soul!” She raged, “you better explain yourself and  _fast.”_

Sans was no longer standing behind Undyne, and when she turned back she saw him crouching next to Papyrus, with an arm around his shoulder, still staring like she'd killed his brother.

The guilt was rising, but Undyne refused to let them turn her. “Stop looking at me like that! It's just a  _human_ and its our ticket out of this terrible place! What is your problem?!”

Papyrus looked up. There were tears running down his face. 

“Undyne... you...”

“Stop it! I killed them and now I'm taking their soul to the King!” Undyne shouted. She ran forward, because she knew she'd done wrong and wanted to get out of there, but blue magic grabbed her and held her where she was. Sans's eye was glowing, but he was silent.

“But... but they...  _why?_ ” Papyrus asked. His voice was so awful to listen to and Undyne wished she could block it out.

“Papyrus, it's a human, damn it! They're dangerous and cruel and this is the last one! This is the seventh soul! So you better let me go, you worthless bag of bones, so I can deliver it to the capital!” The last part was directed at Sans, but Papyrus flinched.

“They were my friend...” 

She stopped. Her breath caught in her throat and she could do little more than let out a strangled growl. She couldn't be wrong- she had been taught that all humans must be killed! Why would the King lie to her? Why would anybody be friends with a human?

“They just wanted to go home...” Papyrus whimpered. How long could the damn human have known him? A couple days, at most, but yet here he was. He was too innocent for his own good. She wanted to shout at him and knock some sense into his empty skull, but her body was weighed down with sin. Sans continued to stare with large, unblinking eyes.

“This is all my fault,” Papyrus sobbed.

He stumbled to his feet and ran. He left the body and ran, and she could hear his heavy breathing and his sobs. She wanted to chase after him and tell him she was sorry and that another human would fall, but Sans was watching still, and she could see the judgment in his eyes. He let go of his magic and all the monster did was fall to her knees as the truth finally reached her.

The child had been innocent. The child had been scared and had pleaded for their life. Undyne had murdered a child in cold blood. 

She didn't notice as Sans slowly stood. She only came to when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.

“You thought you were doing the right thing,” was all he said. Undyne's face twisted in agony before she fell forward and pounded a fist into the earth. She'd messed up. She'd messed up so bad, and now Papyrus would hate her, and his brother hated her already, and she would have to live forever knowing that she'd murdered children for- what? Freedom? Nobody was dying. They could have lived and died and then their soul could've been taken. They didn't need to die.

She stayed there long after Sans left. When she finally pulled herself up, she saw that he'd taken the human's corpse with him, likely to bury it. She couldn't face Papyrus, not for a long time. But she picked up her phone and texted him anyways.

_I fucked up and i'm sorry_

She stayed there a while longer. Her armor was cold and she was hungry, but she thought about how the small human was dead because of her and she didn't really have the strength to go anywhere. She hoped that Papyrus would answer her, or that one of them would come to make sure that she was okay... hours passed...

But nobody came.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed, I skipped Papyrus's boss battle, and that's only because I wanted to preserve the original story a bit, and in canon, Papyrus is the only boss who will not kill you. His attacks stop when you reach 1 HP, so unlike Toriel, he cannot kill you by accident. However, who is to say what happens AFTER Frisk dies? Up until that point I'm trying to keep everything somewhat true to the story. Sorry to those expecting a Papyrus chapter!


	3. Mettaton

The human was easy to kill. Mettaton did it quickly, before that pesky thing called his 'conscience' could start arguing with him. They'd pleaded and cried, but he knew that humans were primitive things. It was all they knew to do when faced with death- he couldn't imagine how they'd made it past Undyne. Even if he didn't care much for the head of the Royal Guard, he was no idiot, and he would admit that she was very tough.

He stood over the dead human and took the soul. The room was quiet for a while as he watched it- so very red and alive. Mettaton was hesitant to absorb it, as it may alter his features, so he simply stared. It was morbidly beautiful.

When he finally unlocked the doors, Alphys burst in.

“Mettaton! Mettaton, are you o-”

He'd expected as much. When he turned, he saw Alphys staring in horror at the little body in front of him. When her eyes finally rose, first to the soul and then to Mettaton, tears welled in her eyes.

“M-M-Mettaton,” she breathed. “You- y-you...”

“Yes, darling. I took their soul.”

She took a step forward, but stopped. Her hands were shaking. The robot towered over her small form even though they were many feet from each other. Her lab coat drug on the floor as she closed the gap and got down to touch the dead humans cheek.

“There's no point in that,” Mettaton said. He felt a shred of remorse, but not enough to sway him in the least. “They're dead. I have their soul now.”

She said nothing. He shook his head with a tsk.

“It was them or Asgore, dear,” he said, “and you would have lost both the other way around. You should be happy, Alphys. This way, you won't have any dust on your scales.”

“Th... they trusted m-m-me,” Alphys murmured. She didn't raise her head, so Mettaton couldn't see her expression. “They t-trusted me a-a-and I- I let this... I-I let you-”

“If this was your fault, you'd have their soul,” he said offhandedly. “You're a doctor, Alphys, use that smart head of yours. I was going to do this no matter what you instructed me to do. Now that I've got a human soul, I'll shoot into the human world like the star I am-”

Mettaton was shoved backwards as Alphys reared up and pushed him with all her might. He was shocked, but there was an expression of rage on her face quite unlike any he'd seen her wear before. It was almost impressive.

“H-How could you!” she shouted as the angry tears ran down her scales and dribbled onto her coat. “They didn't hurt a-anybody! They were i-i-innocent!”

“They were a _human_ , Alphys,” he said as he righted himself and looked at his shiny soul. “What does your friend say? That all humans should pay for what they did to us? It's something along those lines, anyways.”

“You're a murderer!” she said as she jabbed a claw at him. “You used m-me, all this time- just to kill my friend!”

Her attack was slow and unpracticed. Mettaton dodged it with ease, but she ran again, and again. Each time, she cried harder, and shouted more vile accusations.

Eventually, he hit the crazed lizard hard enough to make her stay down. She held her wounds and glared at him. The human's corpse was still in the middle of the room. Mettaton still had the soul.

“What are you accomplishing by doing this?” Mettaton grumbled. He was getting annoyed- he shouldn't feel at all bad about what he'd done, but she was _making_ him feel bad. Her eyes drilled into his soul and it angered him.

“I won't l-let you do this,” she said, and then heaved herself back to her feet. She shouted something as she threw magic at him, but he side-stepped and ran at her to grab her by the neck and hold her aloft.

“Enough!” he growled. “I've had enough of this!”

“You're a _monster_ ,” she hissed as she struggled for air.

Mettaton choked her, because he was enraged and the soul was giving him more emotion and power than he'd ever felt. She writhed in his grasp, and even as she went limp he was too absorbed in the soul's power to see that he was killing her.

Suddenly, his grasp weakened, and Alphys fell to the floor and began to cough. Mettaton attempted to move, but he couldn't.

“What-” he said, but before he could continue his entire body shut down and the soul's power began to fight back. He snarled, but it was no use- it was far superior to him.

It was the damned human. He struggled to gain control of the soul, but it refused to be tamed. Alphys was watching in a mixture of awe and horror as the soul took hold of the robot and brought him to his knees.

She was quick. She flipped open a panel on Mettaton's back and disabled his attack features. She ripped both of his arms off before she stumbled away from him and the wild soul.

There was a moment when the room felt suddenly very hollow. It was only the three of them- two living and one dead. The beautiful red soul floated, if only for a moment, to Alphys. She cupped her hands and allowed it to settle there, quietly and peacefully. As it did so, Mettaton could move again, but he stayed where he was on his knees.

He'd known the power of the human soul, but he couldn't stop himself from being awed by how determined one little child could be. He simply watched as Alphys's eyes went wide for a few seconds, and then she closed them to nod.

The emptiness was gone, and suddenly so was the soul. Alphys stared down at Mettaton in anger. She looked more confident than she had ever been.

“If I was the human... I-I would've killed you,” she said. She touched her chest with one of her hands. “They could've, y-you know. A few seconds ago.”

Mettaton said nothing. He stared up at her with his head low and tried to remain calm.

“I-I'm taking their s-soul to Asgore,” she said. Her gaze drifted to the corpse on the floor. Her lip curled and she looked away, only to clench her fists. “I-It's what they want. A-as for you...”

Mettaton's face broke. His eyes went wide as Alphys flashed forward faster than his eyes could follow- thanks to the power of the soul- and she drained the rest of his battery.

As his vision faded, he saw her leave the room and go to the King's castle. She stopped and turned around as Mettaton's body fell over. She was still crying.

“You're lucky y-you killed such a n-nice human,” she said. Mettaton's vision faded and he lost consciousness as his battery died. He tried to call to her and beg forgiveness...

But nobody came.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually kind of hate Mettaton, if I have to be honest...  
> I imagine that Alphys snaps when she's pushed too far, but it takes a lot. Like child murder, for example.
> 
> Lol i was gonna do an Asgore chapter but "I'm not really feelin' up to it right now..." so this is the end folks

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this when I found out that you could accidentally be killed by Toriel if you are unlucky enough. Each chapter will sort of explore what I think the initial aftermath would be like after Frisk is killed by every major boss-battle that they can be killed in. As you have read, this chapter was Toriel. I don't think she'd fare too well knowing that she killed a child.  
> \-----  
> Chapters will be short


End file.
